State of the World 1999
January 1999
ISBN: 0-393-31815-X
259 pages
| Print Version | $13.95 |  |
State of the World 1999 presents evidence of the birth of an entirely new economy, an Environmental Revolution that may be as sweeping as the Industrial Revolution that put us on our present unsustainable course. The authors argue that, far from being too costly to consider, the transition to an environmentally sustainable economy represents the greatest investment opportunity in history. In country after country, community after community, people are making the changes needed to shift from today's fossil fuel-based, auto-centric, throwaway economy to a solar/hydrogen-powered, bicycle/rail-centered, reuse/recycle economy--an economy that will satisfy human needs while preserving the Earth's ecosystems.
Written in clear and concise language, with easy-to-read charts and tables, State of the World presents a view of our changing world that we cannot afford to ignore.
Chapter 1: A New Economy for a New Century
Lester Brown, Christopher Flavin
- The Acceleration of History
- The Growth Century
- Overwhelming the Earth
- The Shape of a New Economy
- Rethinking Progress
Chapter 2: Reinventing the Energy System
Christopher Flavin, Seth Dunn
- Prime Movers
- Systemic Change
- An Industry Transformed
- Great Powers, Geopolitical Prizes
- Energy and Society
Chapter 3: Forging a Sustainable Materials Economy
Gary Gardner, Payal Sampat
- Constructing a Material Century
- The Shadow Side of Consumption
- A Material Revolution
- Shifting Gears
Chapter 4: Reorienting the Forest Products Economy
Janet N. Abramovitz, Ashley T. Mattoon
- The Changing Timber Landscape
- The Trees in Our Homes
- Paper: From Fishing Nets to Silicon
- Wood Energy
- The Future of Forest Products
Chapter 5: Charting a New Course for Oceans
Anne Platt McGinn
- Economic and Ecological Values
- A Sea of Problems
- Ocean Governance
- Building Political Will
Chapter 6: Appreciating the Benefits of Plant Biodiversity
John Tuxill
- Into the Mass Extinction
- Of Food and Farmers
- Of Medicines and Material Goods
- Bio-Uniformity Rising
- Stored for Safekeeping
- Keeping Diversity in Place
- Sharing the Benefits
Chapter 7: Feeding Nine Billion
Lester R. Brown
- A Century of Growth
- Overfed and Underfed
- Land: A Finite Resource
- Water: Emerging Constraint on Growth
- Raising Land Productivity
- Changing Course
Chapter 8: Exploring a New Vision for Cities
Molly O'Meara
- An Urbanizing World
- Improving Water Supply and Quality
- Mining Urban Waste
- Moving People and Goods
- Building Better Neighborhoods
- Realizing the Vision
Chapter 9: Ending Violent Conflict
Michael Renner
- War in the Twentieth Century
- Peace and Disarmament in This Century
- The Changing Nature of Global Security
- Setting the New Security Agenda
- A World Without Borders?
Chapter 10: Building a Sustainable Society
David Malin Roodman
- Getting the Signals Right
- Reinventing Regulation
- Global Challenges, Global Cooperation
- An Eco-Industrial Revolution
- Civil Society for a Sustainable Society
- The Power of an Educated Citizenry